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I got my 60kWh about 5 weeks back. In city driving, I have been getting exactly the same range as rated range. I live in Colorado and drive into mountains often. I expected to see worse range when driving into mountains. I have been delighted to find out I am still getting the rated range when driving through the mountains with elevation going up and down by up to 4000 feet. This is when not babying the car at all, running A/C the whole time and pushing the go pedal hard often (very hard not to). But then today's drive topped even that experience. I drove 170 miles today through the mountains going up and down in elevation with elevation ranging from 4950 feet to 9700 feet and outside temp ranging from 73 Deg F to 86 Deg F. For the 170 miles of actual driving, car consumed 143 miles of rated range! Any range anxiety I had while driving in the mountains before is pretty much gone now :)

mikefa | 7 Juillet 2013

Whatever energy you used going up the mountain, you gain it all back when going down the mountain.

(Too bad it uses only metric units, and the results are a bit difficult to interpret).

cwmenne | 7 Juillet 2013

At the higher elevations, you also get some aerodynamic savings as the air is less dense as you get higher. By the time you get to 8-10,000ft, it should become noticeable for sure.

tobi_ger | 7 Juillet 2013

azizkhan
Did you drive the same route uphill and downhill? The extra energy could be a result of a longer downhill route compared to uphill.

Brian H | 7 Juillet 2013

Some have anecdotally reported getting the full 80% back. May require the right hill, though!

hikerockies | 7 Juillet 2013

@tobi_ger: no, it was not the same route uphill and downhill. Downhill part might have been longer than uphill part by 2-3 miles.

shop | 7 Juillet 2013

Less drag at high altitudes is a real effect. I wonder if anyone has done the math on it?

Captain_Zap | 7 Juillet 2013

Congrats! Just be aware that once the roads get wet, the wind starts to blow and the chill sets in next fall you'll have to adjust your expectations a bit.

That said, I have to say that the range surprises me all the time because I am in a mountainous area as well. I got my car in November. As the weather warmed up and the roads dried off I became even more impressed with the range.

ricardo.rossi.ar | 7 Juillet 2013

I get close to ideal range here in Southern California

hikerockies | 8 Juillet 2013

@Captain_Zap: Agreed. mpg in my gasoline cars starts dropping in November. There is no reason for Model S to behave much different in winter. Instead of gasoline burning inefficiently, it will be battery being used inefficiently as temperature drops.

LionPowered | 7 Août 2013

I did my first mountain driving this week in Colorado. Wow! The MS is an awesome mountain road driving machine! It doesn't care how steep the road is or how little oxygen there is. Descending is so beautiful. No risk of burning brake pads or clutch plates. Regenerative braking and mountains are a fantastic match :-)

svoelpel2 | 8 Août 2013

At almost 3000 miles in-town and non-interstate highway driving in rural NC, I am beating ideal range with a current avg Wh/mile of 265. With local electricity cost of 10cents/kw, I am driving for 2.65 cents per mile. Could not be more pleased with range and efficiency.